Bullets Volleyball Sweeps Dickinson in Nineteenth Win of Season
The Bullets defeated Dickinson 3-0 on Wednesday. (Noah Simkiss/The Gettysburgian)
By Noah Simkiss, Staff Writer
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, the Gettysburg women’s volleyball team faced Dickinson College in Break Gym, where they battled for a 3-0 victory.
With the two schools situated just 30 miles apart and placed fourth and fifth respectively in the current Centennial Conference standings, the matchup was full of enthusiasm from both the athletes and the audience.
Energy was high from the beginning, with the Bullets striking first to take a 1-0 lead. Dickinson fought back, and by the time the score was tied at 9-9, there had been five lead changes.
Pushing for a decisive lead in a back-and-forth game, Gettysburg rallied a 9-1 run, which included three kills by Catherine Holtz ’25 and two blocks by Mary Huegel ’26. The Bullets took this comfortable lead to the end of the set, winning it 25-15.
The second set began similarly to the first, riddled with ties and lead changes. A kill by first-year Clare Farrell ’28 to give the Bullets the lead prompted an offensive burst, and after six straight points, Gettysburg was once again playing with a decisive lead of 14-8.
Although Dickinson managed to narrow the Bullets’ lead to three, Gettysburg fed off an ace by Sophie Nasir ’25 to make the score 20-14.
Only needing five points to win the set, the Bullets brought it to a close with errors by Dickinson and kills by Farrell and Huegel.
After dominant performances in the first two sets, the Bullets struggled at the beginning of the third. Although Dickinson’s Red Devils only held a narrow lead, they refused to give it up.
Despite the Bullets managing to tie the game at 11-all, thanks in part to three kills by Erin Gonzalez ’27, Dickinson stayed just on top until Gettysburg broke ahead of a 15-15 tie on another kill by Gonzalez.
Invigorated and playing more like their earlier selves, Gettysburg brought the score to 24-21. With the Bullets needing just one point to win the game and the Red Devils only trailing by three, Dickinson called a timeout.
When play resumed, Dickinson seemed to have recaptured the energy that had given them the lead at the start of the set.
On the play that could have ended the game, Gettysburg spiked the ball into Dickinson’s court, but a dramatic dig by the Red Devils kept it in play at the last second. Dickinson ended up scoring not only that point, but also the next three, tying the set. Despite their opponent’s impressive rally, the Bullets were determined not to let the set get away from them. On a kill by Farrell, Gettysburg ended the game triumphantly with a final score of 3-0.
Wednesday’s win is just one out of the 2024 Bullets’ remarkable nineteen this season. With a win percentage of .826 — the highest for Gettysburg volleyball since 2004 — the team has earned itself the fourth spot in the Centennial Conference standings.
Not only is Gettysburg volleyball making its mark on the standings, but its players have also been recognized by the Conference.On October 29, Huegel was named the Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season, after averaging 1.67 blocks per set and adding 10 kills in the previous week.Other stars of Wednesday’s game include Alycen Radolovic ’26 with 10 kills, Gonzalez with 9 kills, Halle Feth ’27 with twenty-three assists and Nala Shearer ’28 with 13 digs.
On Nov. 2 at 1 p.m., Gettysburg volleyball will face Bryn Mawr, where they will fight to earn their twentieth win of the 2024 season.
